Braid
by thedagness
Summary: In which Daryl braids Beth's hair and Beth confesses Daryl into silence. Oneshot. Tumblr prompt. Bit AU.


_A/N: As always I disclaim all rights and responsibilities for The Walking Dead and it's characters._

_Unbeta'd. I apologize for any grammar mistakes._

_Bethyl tumblr promt from anomymous: Braid._

_Coldplay's 'Til Kingdome Come' inspired me through this oneshot._

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_Steal my heart and hold my tongue.  
__I feel my time, my time has come.  
__Let me in, unlock the door.  
__I've never felt this way before._

_\- Til Kingdome Come_

"Sure I'm doing this right?"

His fingers were slow, hesitant and unaccustomed in her hair. Daryl was holding the different locks apart and staring down at them like they were an intricate problem to be solved. Moving the dry straw between his teeth with a flick of his tongue, he shifted on the box he was sitting on.

Staring down at the blonde head now, he wondered how she'd even managed to make him agree to do this. Now that he held her soft locks in his fingers, he couldn't exactly recall. One minute she had stood in front of him out on the porch with her smile and the next minute she was sitting indian style on the ground between his legs with his hands in her hair doing _girl things_. He must be getting softer than he thought.

If Beth had any say in it right now, her wish would be that he'd keep touching her hair without any distractions for at least half a day more. His fingers against her scalp, pulling at the strands sent all kinds of pleasant tingles down her neck, and sitting between his legs like this enveloped with the familiar smell of him and the heat of his body radiating against her back even though he wasn't touching her, it made her feel safe and warm.

"I'm sure you're fine," mumbled Beth contently and toyed with the Washington DC spoon in her hands.

"Ain't never needed to braid any girl's hair before."

Beth bent her head back to stare up at him almost upside down, earning a few protests from the archer in the process. "Braided any _boys'_ hair lately, then?"

Daryl stared down at her for a moment before he snorted with a crooked smirk, pushing her head forward again with 'tsk' and a nudge with his knuckles. "Wouldn't be so smug if you saw the mess up here. And you ain't exactly helpin', Greene."

"Well, Mr Dixon, you were bound to be bad at something eventually, right?"

He nudged her shoulder with the inner side of his distal thigh, earning a chuckle from the young woman.

"Yeah, yeah," Daryl mumbled, holding back a smile. "You're losing focus. Said you'd keep watch if I did this, so keep watch."

She rolled her eyes with a smirk, but clapped her hands together and let them rest on her crossed legs before she dutifully scanned the area for any intruders.

Daryl's fingers stopped and hugged the tresses between his dirty and calloused fingers. When he looked down at his hands, her beautiful hair looked like the sun in contrast with his skin. Who was he kidding? There hadn't been a walker in the area for days. He'd barely put up a fight when she offered to help him keep watch in return for a braid. Nibbling on his bottom lip, Daryl squinted at the sky and sighed, finally finding the strength to admit to himself what he'd felt ever since the day at the funeral home.

_Shit_, Daryl cursed in his head, shifting the straw in his mouth, suddenly grateful that Beth was facing the other way. _Shit, fuck, shit._

Beth frowned when she felt him pause. "Everything okay back there?"

"Uh, yeah. I, uh. Gonna start over." He pulled his fingers through her hair and tried to ignore the warm feeling that spread through him when Beth leaned into his touch. "Wouldn't take."

"It doesn't have to be pretty, Daryl."

"Don't need your braiding pity, Greene." He softly flicked the back of her head, earning a shoulder nudge against his calf in return.

A moment of silence followed.

Beth clasped her hands together and swallowed. The stiffness of her shoulders didn't go unnoticed by Daryl. Immediately, he got the feeling that Beth wanted to say something that was going to have a significant impact on him. A familiar feeling was rushing through him, suddenly every fibre of his being was screaming at him to run, to escape, to protect himself but he swallowed, reminding himself that he had put those days behind himself for a reason.

"Do you ever…" She began, trying to find the right way to approach this. "Do you ever think about the house? The funeral home?"

There was a short pause.

"Yeah, sometimes." He whispered softly, almost inaudibly.

"Because being at the hospital with Dawn and all that, it was hard and most of the time I had to be on my guard, but-" She blinked looking down on the ground. Somehow, this moment reminded her of them outside on the porch of the moonshine-cabin. Her fingers closed around the ripped and frilly hem of his right pant and tugged on it. "I still had some time to think."

He had stopped braiding her hair the minute she had started talking, but his fingers were still tangled in her locks. His jaws were stiff and he was silent. Nothing, not even a god damn walker could have stopped him from listening to her. He wanted and needed her to finish what she was saying.

"Maybe it's silly to think back on it like this, but I don't care. I missed you, and I would have been perfectly happy to stay there and make a life in that house. With you."

The gentle conviction in her voice stole his breath away. He wanted to say something, but his mind was a spinning mess. The seconds of silence that followed felt like hours to him.

Beth turned around on her knees, placing steady and assertive hands on his thighs and moved closer between them. Suddenly meeting her eyes, Daryl felt open and more exposed than ever before. Beth felt calm and strangely confident in this. She inched closer and reached out a hand, gracefully taking the straw from his mouth.

"What are you doing?"

"Stay there. Let me show you."

He already knew what she intended and his heart raced faster with every inch that she came closer. Her hand was placed naturally against his chest and slowly, almost reverently, Daryl placed his hands on either side of her waist. There was a strong beat where everything around them disappeared and the only thing that existed to them was each other. Daryl felt her warm breath against his face and then she covered his lips with her own.

Beth felt him respond almost immediately, brushing his mouth back against hers, the hands on her waist, now around her back, hugging her closer. The kiss quickly became more desperate and Daryl let out a soft whimper, as if he couldn't believe what was happening. His arms around her tightened and Beth placed a hand on his cheek, brushing her thumb against his sun tanned skin, assuring him that this was real. When they pulled back from each other, his eyes were wide and filled with all the tender feelings he had ever felt for her.

"Beth," he pressed out, but his words quickly fell.

Beth smiled. She had never heard her name spoken with as much emotion and meaning from anyone before.

Oblivious of how perfectly they fit, like two puzzle pieces coming together, she slid her arms around his neck and whispered lovingly, "I know."

He sighed as if a weight lifted from his heart and he hid his face in the crook of her shoulder, tightening his arms around her. He was never going to let her go again.

_Hold my head inside your hands,  
I need someone who understands.  
I need someone, someone who hears,  
For you, I've waited all these years.  
_

_\- Til Kingdome Come_

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_A/N: Thank you! Please leave a review with your thoughts!_

_By the way, I'm not the only one totally bummed at Gimple, right? I'll gladly rally behind Team Delusional but fact is, the mid season finale is always going to be what it is. Beth is always going to have that out of character moment where she is completely devoid of any emotion or reaction at all upon rejoining her family. That huge insult to her as a character is always going to be there, regardless if she comes back. It's just something that I'm so frustrated about and bleeergh. But hey, let's keep it positive, right? I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS SUB-FANDOM. Because everyone is so great! Thanks again for reading!_

_~ C_


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